CURRENT AFFAIRS 22 OCTOBER 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

22 OCTOBER 2019

IMPORTANT TOPICS IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, INDIAN POLITY,ECONOMY AND SOCIETY,ENVIRONMENT  for TODAY TO LOOK AT
1.Sessions of Parliament(gs-2) Context: Parliament winter session from Nov. 18 to Dec. 13 2.Siachen glacier(gs-1,3) Context:Siachen now open for tourism, says Rajnath Singh 3.Universal Postal Union(gs-2) Context:Ravi Shankar Prasad slams Pakistan for unilaterally stopping postal service between nations Moving to renewable energy would help in reducing pollution: Vice President 4.INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE-i-SUN CaP (International capacity Augmentation Programmes for the “Sunshine Countries of ISA”(gs-2,3) Context:Moving to renewable energy would help in reducing pollution: Vice President 5.Common Service Centres-DigiGaon or Digital Village(gs-2,3) Context:Govt. to set up 1 lakh digital villages in next few years: Ravi Shankar Prasad 6.World’s oldest known natural pearl discovered on Abu Dhabi Island(gs-1) 7.NCRB(GS-2,3) CONTEXT:Uttar Pradesh tops in crimes against women, says NCRB report 8.CWC-CENTRAL WATER COMISSION(GS-2,3) CONTEXT:Hydropower projects could face closure 9.BHIM 2.0(GS-2,3) CONTEXT:Government launches BHIM 2.0 with new functionalities, additional language support 10.Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA)(GS-2,3) CONTEXT:Avoid oil imports from Malaysia: trade body

1.Sessions of Parliament(gs-2)

• Context: Parliament winter session from Nov. 18 to Dec. 13\
• The winter session of Parliament will begin on November 18 and end on December 13.
• The 20-day session is the first after the dilution of Article 370 and the complete shutdown of Jammu and Kashmir. The Opposition, which largely supported the amendment bill diluting Article 370, will raise the issue of communication shutdown.
• The economic slowdown is also expected to be an issue of showdown between the treasury and Opposition benches.
• The government, for the first time in six years, is comfortably placed in the Rajya Sabha. With a fractured Opposition and numbers in its favour, the Upper House will not be much of a hurdle for the government in this session.
• It is a far shorter session than the norm. In the past, the winter sessions have gone on till Christmas.

Sessions of Parliament:

• A session of the Indian Parliament is the period during which a House meets almost every day uninterruptedly to manage the business. There are typically three sessions in a year. A session contains many meetings.
• The process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet is called Summoning of Parliament. It is the President who summons Parliament.

In general, the sessions are as follows:

• Budget session (February to May)
• Monsoon session (July to September)
• Winter session (November to December)

Budget Session

• The budget session is held in February to May every year.
• It is considered to be a highly crucial session of the Parliament.
• The Budget  was presented on the last working day of the month of February but now on 1 st February... 
• Here, the members discuss the various provisions of the budget and matters concerning taxation, after the Finance Minister presents the budget.
• The budget session is generally split into two periods with a gap of one month between them.
• This session every year starts with the President’s Address to both Houses.

Monsoon Session

• The monsoon session is held in July to September every year.
• This is after a break of two months after the budget session.
• In this session, matters of public interest are discussed.

Winter Session

• 
  
• The winter session of Parliament is held in mid-November to mid-December every year.
• It is the shortest session of all.
• It takes up the matters that could not be considered upon earlier and makes up for the absence of legislative business during the second session of the Parliament.

Joint Session of Parliament

• The Constitution of India provides for the joint sitting of the Parliament’s two Houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, in order to break any deadlock between the two.
• The joint sitting of the Parliament is called by the country’s President.
• Such a session is presided over by the Speaker, and in his/her absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. In the absence of both, it is presided over by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• If any of the above are not present, any other member of the Parliament can preside by consensus of both the Houses.
• Article 108 of the Constitution talks about a joint Parliament session.

When is a Joint Session called?

• If a bill is passed by one House and passed on to the other and – 
• The bill is rejected by the other House
• The Houses disagree on the amendments made to the bill
• If 6 months have passed since the passing of the bill by one House and the bill has been received by the other House without it being passed (the President cannot summon a joint sitting if the bill was not passed because of the dissolution of the Lok Sabha). Also, in calculating the 6 months, days, when House was prorogued or adjourned for more than 4 consecutive days, are not counted.

Exceptions to Joint Sittings

• Money Bills: Money bills do not require the approval of the Rajya Sabha. Only Lok Sabha needs to pass it. Even if the Upper House does not pass a money bill within 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed by both Houses of Parliament after the expiry of the above period. So, there is no case for a joint sitting in the case of a money bill.
• Constitution Amendment Bills: According to Article 368, the constitution of India can be amended by both the Houses by a 2/3rd majority. In case of a disagreement between both the houses, there is no provision for a joint session of Parliament

2.Siachen glacier(gs-1,3)

• Context:Siachen now open for tourism, says Rajnath Singh
• The Siachen glacier is “now open“ for tourists and tourism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday after inaugurating a strategically important bridge on the Shyok river in Eastern Ladakh.
• “The Siachen area is now open for tourists and Tourism. From Siachen Base Camp to Kumar Post, the entire area has been opened for Tourism purposes,” Mr. Singh said in a tweet. Better connectivity in Ladakh would certainly bring tourists in large numbers, he stated in another tweet.
• There is already a civil trek from the Siachen Base Camp to the Kumar post located at about 15,500 feet facilitated by the Army. While it was supposed to be annual, it was cancelled on several occasions due to weather and border tensions.

Siachen glacier:

What is the issue?

While India and Pakistan have been unable to resolve the Siachen dispute, the new enemy is global warming.

Where is Siachen?

• It is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
• It forms part of the Leh district of the Ladakh division in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

What is the history of Siachen?

• In 1984, India launched Operation Meghdoot to capture the 76.4 km-long glacier on the Saltoro ridge.
• The operation continues till date, making it the longest continuing one of its kind in the world.
• But there has been no shooting following the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) across the Siachen.
• Siachen is a legacy of Partition.
• While the LoC was delineated and accepted by India and Pakistan up to point NJ9842, the glacier was left unmarked.
• India claims the area based on the Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession (1947) and the Karachi Agreement of 1949, which define the ceasefire line beyond NJ9842 as “running Northwards to the glaciers”.

Why the issue has not been resolved yet?

• Siachen is expected to be sorted out by both sides before addressing the Kashmir question.
• But it may not be that simple for historical, operational and practical reasons.
• India has shown willingness for demilitarisation on the condition of first authenticating the 110-km AGPL, which is the current position on the glacier.
• But Pakistan refuses, which means that once India vacates the posts, Pakistan may try to occupy them.
• India currently has the advantage of height as it commands higher ground, holding the highest posts at heights of 21,000 ft.
• Any demilitarisation without proper delineation and acceptance of the current positions would be disastrous.
• Retaking once-occupied peaks is near impossible.

What are the recent problems?

• The biggest enemy on the glacier has always been the weather.
• The Indian Army has learnt to adapt.
• However, the series of recent untimely avalanches on the glacier and the resultant spikes in casualties show that the challenge of changing weather patterns is new.
• Studies have been initiated to access the rate of glacier melt, and the Army is re-assessing the vulnerable posts in an attempt to shift some of them.
• These need to be accelerated and technology infused to save the soldier.

3.Universal Postal Union(gs-2)

• Context:Ravi Shankar Prasad slams Pakistan for unilaterally stopping postal service between nations
• The Union Minster for Communications and IT said Pakistan resorted to the move without giving any prior notice to India
• Pakistan’s “unilateral” decision to stop postal mail service with India was in contravention of international norms, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday.
• “Pakistan's decision is directly in contravention of international postal union norms,” Mr. Prasad told reporters on the sidelines of an event. He holds the Communications, IT and Law and Justice portfolios.
• Pakistan “without any prior notice or information has stopped sending postal department's letter to India,” he said.

Universal Postal Union:

• The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the International Bureau (IB). It also oversees the Telematics and Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives. Each member agrees to the same terms for conducting international postal duties. The UPU's headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland

4.INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE i-SUN CaP (International capacity Augmentation Programmes for the “Sunshine Countries of ISA”(gs-2,3)

• Context:Moving to renewable energy would help in reducing pollution: Vice President
• The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon policymakers and experts in the renewable energy sector to take steps to tap the vast potential for solar energy around the world and make solar energy affordable for all. He urged all the member nations of International Solar Alliance to develop solar resources and related technology so that their reliance on fossil resources is reduced.
• Speaking at i-SUN CaP (International capacity Augmentation Programmes for the “Sunshine Countries of ISA” organized by the Indian Institute of Public Administration in New Delhi, the Vice President said that moving to renewable would not only ensure energy security but would also help in protecting the climate and reduces pollution.
• Stating that India has huge potential to become the leader in the solar energy sector, Vice President expressed happiness over the way renewable energy resources have been developed in India.
• Opining that global warming and climate change were affecting every aspect of our life and that there was an urgent need to protect the environment and ensure sustainably in development, the Vice President wanted policymakers to formulate plans to augment the capacity for successfully tapping the vast potential for solar energy around the world.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu sought the cooperation of all to undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology in producing renewable energy across the globe and also to mobilize more than USD 1000 billion of investment by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy and pave the way for future technologies.

INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE :
About ISA:

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 122 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, now extended to all members of UN. 
• The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
• Objectives: The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.

What it does? As an action-oriented organisation, the ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.

When it entered into force? When the ISA Framework Agreement entered into force on December 6th, 2017, ISA formally became a de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization, headquartered at Gurugram, India.

5.Common-Service-Centres-DigiGaon or Digital Village(gs-2,3)

• Context:Govt. to set up 1 lakh digital villages in next few years: Ravi Shankar Prasad
• Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad today said that the government will set up one lakh digital villages in the country in the next few years. Speaking at the MeitY Start-Up Summit 2019 in New Delhi, Mr Prasad appealed to the concerned stakeholders to patronize and mentor these digital villages in their own way. He said these villages will be the centres for promoting entrepreneurship. 
• The Minister also stressed on the need for digital mapping of all enterprise and entrepreneurship happening in the far corner of the country.
• Mr Prasad said start-up is the finest product of New India as to how the New India is changing. The Minister spoke about various initiatives including bringing of software product policy, electronic policy and digital communication policy in this regard. 
• The Minister said he wants digital India to become a platform for transforming rural India and to create aspirations in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Mr Prasad also stressed the need for encouraging social start-ups.

Common Service Centres-DigiGaon or Digital Village:

• The network of Common Service Centres (CSC) is set to be expanded to 2.50 lakh gram panchayats soon.
• CSC acts as access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India.
• Common Services Centers (CSC) scheme is one of the mission mode projects under the Digital India Program.
• CSCs are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services, apart from host of B2C services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country.
• The regular CSC services are banking, health, education, financial services, and a host of other services.
• In addition, the CSC model has adopted six villages in the country in the pilot phase and they are called as Digital villages.
• DigiGaon or Digital Village is conceptualized as a connected village where citizens can avail various e-Services of the Central Government, state Governments and private players in rural and remote villages in the country.
• DigiGaons are projected to be change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and livelihoods through community participation and collective action.
• The digital villages have been equipped with solar lighting facility in their community center, LED assembly unit, sanitary napkin unit (with active participation on Asha and Anganwadi workers) and Wi-Fi choupal (rural Wi-Fi infrastructure and a slew of suitable applications).

6.World’s oldest known natural pearl discovered on Abu Dhabi Island(gs-1)

Context:
The oldest known natural pearl in the world has been discovered by Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi.
Dubbed the ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’, it was found in layers that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,800-5,600 BCE, during the Neolithic period.

The Emirates News Agency said that the discovery is a proof that pearls and oysters were being used in the UAE nearly 8,000 years ago, and represents the earliest known evidence for pearling yet discovered anywhere in the world.
Prior to the Abu Dhabi Pearl discovery, the earliest known pearl in the UAE came from a Neolithic site in Umm Al Qaiwain. Ancient pearls have also been found at a Neolithic cemetery close to Jebel Buhais, in the Emirate of Sharjah

7.NCRB(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:Uttar Pradesh tops in crimes against women, says NCRB report
• After a delay of two years the annual Crime in India Report 2017 was published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Monday.
• As per the report, 3,59,849 cases of crime against women were reported in the country. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 56,011 cases followed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal 30,002.
• “Majority of cases under crimes against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives’ (27.9%) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (21.7%), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (20.5%) and ‘Rape’ (7.0%),” the report said.

NCRB:

• NCRB is nodal agency under Union Home Ministry for authentic source of data on crime on various parameters including accidents, suicides from across all the states of the country and prisons for policy matters and research.  
• It was established in 1986 as the central police organisation.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It is implementing and monitoring agency of Crime & Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), a Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan of Government.
• It also imparts training in Information Technology (IT) and Finger Print Science for Indian Police Officers as well Foreign Police officers.
• NCRB publishes 4 annual publications on Crime, Prison Statistics, Accidental Deaths & Suicides and Finger Prints. These publications serve as principal reference points on crime statistics.

8.CWC-CENTRAL WATER COMISSION(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:Hydropower projects could face closure
• Come December, hydropower projects that do not comply with the Centre’s ecological flow notification, which mandates that project developers ensure a minimum supply of water all through the year, could face closure.
• The Centre’s ecological flow notification, as it is called, came into effect last October and gave companies three years to modify their design plans, if required, to ensure that a minimum amount of water flowed during all seasons. Power producers generally hoard water to create reserves to increase power production.
• In September, the government advanced this deadline, from October 2021 to December 2019. This was after it tasked the Central Water Commission (CWC) to ascertain actual flows and the amount of water present in the river through 2019. There are 19 power projects along the river and of the 11 sites studied, eight were fully compliant.

Central Water Commission 

• Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.
• Functions: The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development. It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required.

9.BHIM 2.0(GS-2,3)
CONTEXT:Government launches BHIM 2.0 with new functionalities, additional language support

• The IT Ministry on Monday unveiled a slew of new initiatives and programmes, including BHIM 2.0 that packs-in new functionalities, supports additional languages and has increased transaction limits.
• Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also launched a StartUp Hub portal and Indian Software Product Registry at IT Ministry’s MeitY Start-up Summit.
• BHIM app, a UPI-based payment interface developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that allows real-time fund transfer, was launched in December 2016.

Three new languages

• The new version of BHIM also supports three additional languages - Konkani, 
• Bhojpuri and Haryanvi - over and above the existing 13.
• MeitY StartUp Hub (MSH) has been envisioned as an overarching collaborative platform to act as a national coordination, facilitation and interconnected centre for all activities in the tech startup ecosystem. MSH will support startups to reach out to mentors and facilitate startups to scale from ideation to marketplace.
• “MSH portal brings onboard key constituents of the tech startup ecosystem with startups, technology incubation centres, Centres of Excellence (CoEs), mentors, VCs and angels together. It is also mandated to integrate existing programmes and innovation related activities of Ministry of ELectronics and IT (MeitY),” the release said.

BHIM APP:

• Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a mobile payments application based on NPCI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It provides the facility to easily send or receive money from other customers using the UPI. BHIM is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)—the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in India.

Advantages of BHIM:

• Allows easy money transfer without the hassle of knowing the recipient’s bank or account number. The entire transaction can be done in under a minute.
• Instant money transfer at all times. It does not require prior beneficiary registration, unlike net-banking.
• Allows the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)to access bank account details, since it is UPI-based. USSD does not require an internet connection.
• Customers who don’t have UPI accounts can also receive money via Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) and Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) codes.
• It is available in English and Hindi, with other language interfaces in the pipeline.
• Fixed amount can be transferred by generating QR code, in case the receiver does not want to share their phone number. Useful for merchants and vendors.
• A Virtual Payment Address is generated. Flexibility to transfer money either via the receiver’s mobile number, the VPA, or the UPI ID.
• Nearly all the commercial banks support BHIM. Unlike e-wallets, money can be directly transferred to bank accounts via BHIM.
• Aadhaar based payments at the scan of a “thumb” (biometric authentication) are also possible by the app.

Security features:

• The BHIM app is tied to the mobile number and device ID. So using the app on a different handset will require a separate authentication process.
• Three-point authentication via mobile number, device ID and UPI PIN.
• Fingerprint-based biometric verification of transactions via Aadhaar will prevent fraudulent transactions.
• UPI PIN is needed for both opening the app as well as for transactions.
• Resetting UPI pin requires debit card details and OTP SMS to authenticate.

BHIM vs Paytm-like mobile wallets:

• The BHIM app gives serious competition to existing mobile wallets. BHIM app would appear as comparatively reliable option as it is made by the NPCI and is directly synced to the bank account.
• Since the transactions happen directly from the bank accounts, there is no need to recharge the wallet.
• No commissions and hidden charges for using the app.
• BHIM allows bank to bank transfers unlike other e-wallets.
• With the BHIM UPI app, the upper limit of a single transaction is Rs. 10,000 and one can transfer Rs. 20,000 in 24 hours. But, with PayTM, one can receive up to 25,000 rupees in a month.

• BHIM has the potential to demolish private mobile wallets owing to the various advantages over the latter. Nevertheless, the challenge of advertising and creating awareness about the app and getting the merchants on board prevails. It would be difficult to make an impact unless BHIM is accepted at physical stores, public transport, etc

10.Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA)(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:Avoid oil imports from Malaysia: trade body
• In line with the Union Government’s strong objections to Malaysia’s “unprovoked” remarks and criticism on India’s move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, India’s apex oil trade body Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) on Monday advised all its members to avoid imports from the southeast Asian nation amid prevailing tensions between the two countries.
• The association issued a short advisory asking its members, including importer-crushers and processors, to avoid importing palm oil from Malaysia till clarity emerges.

Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA):
History & Overview

• From ancient time, vegetable oils were obtained by crushing oilseeds in village ghanis / kolhus / chekkus in the country. At the beginning of the 20th century the vegetable oils industry was based on some 500,000 bullock-driven ghanis producing about 800,000 tonnes of oils. Slowly, in addition to these ghanis, power-driven ghanis (rotary ghanis made indigenously) imported expeller and imported hydraulic press plants started crushing oilseeds.
• Around this time many European countries and United States of America had established huge solvent extraction plants for recovering directly almost all the available oil in the oilseeds like Cottonseed and Soybean.
• On this background, just 2 years before independence, in 1945, a lone small Solvent Extraction Plant commenced operation in Bhavnagar for extracting oil from oilseed cakes and oilseeds. And gradually such units increased. They faced common problems, which brought them together to form an Association with all the 40 units operating at that time, in 1963.

The Association

• The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India was formed in 1963 to help and foster the development and growth of Solvent Extraction Industry in India. At present the Association is having 875 members including about 350 working solvent extraction plants having combined oilcake/ oilseed processing annual capacity of about 30 million tonnes.
• The Association is an all India body to solvent extractions industry and premier vegetable oil Association in the country having wide representative membership consisting of processors of Rice bran, Oilcakes, Minor Oilseeds and Soybean.
• Associate Membership of the Association includes apart from processors, also merchant exporters, oil millers, refiners, vanaspati manufacturers, importers of edible oils, brokers, traders, plant & machinery manufacturers, clearing & forwarding agents, surveyors, regional associations etc.
• With such wide cross section of membership, SEA is a broad based, all India apex body of solvent extraction industry and at present practically all working solvent extraction units are its members. The affairs of the Association are being managed by the Managing Committee, headed by the President.
• The Association continuously gives feedback to the members about development taking place in the country and world over by various circulars. Monthly News circular, E-Mail & through periodical zonal meetings.
• SEA was the first Association in India successfully to launch Website http://www.seaofindia.com to provide upto date information on trade & industry and statistical data backed by its exhaustive data bank. SEA is financially autonomous and functions entirely as private sector body.

DIWALI PRECAUTIONS: